Having had the ATR a couple of weeks now I thought I’d just write down a few things i've found so far.
Previous cars being a slightly modified DC2 and slightly modified DC5. I'll mainly be comparing it to the DC2 however as that’s what i’ve just sold and replaced with the Accord.
I’ve noticed it has alot of grip or at least mechanical grip, more so than the DC2. It doesn’t rely on its balance as much as the Teg but it still handles very well. I've noticed the weight much more during acceleration, braking and cornering. Particularly the weight transfer when changing direction. It’s much more sluggish in a sense because of this, feeling less on its toes, less focused with a more grown up feel, relying more on grip and stability but still retaining good turn in. Leading me to feel that it requires a more delicate, precise, and smoother driver to get the most out of it. The balance of the car seems really good for its size but also seems alittle nose heavy (although this could be the suspension setup+weight transfer), and with the very stable rear end it certainly under steers before the teg would have done on tighter stuff at least. On medium to fast bends i’ve found it just as quick and have yet to find its limits. (Track action for this I think) Due to its size, weight, suspension travel and setup if certainly takes rough surfaces better than the teg, being able to handle motorways, A roads and city driving just as well as each other. Another thing I have noticed which the DC2 never portrayed as much is that the Diff likes to pull you offline sometimes, either if you have too much lock (turning at a junction) or when the power is applied and you’re on an uneven surface. I guess this is probably to be expected but something I never really noticed on the teg.
As for comfort its leaps and bounds ahead of the Integra, Seats and Steering position are just as good but it absorbed bumps better and doesn’t have half the road noise either. Theirs very few creaks or rattles compared to the teg too and seems better put together. Fuel wise they seem to be quite similar.
The engine even with the stock intake sounds really throaty and the engine pulls alot better lower down making full use of the extra CC's. The Torque is very impressive and on both city and motorway driving it’s almost effortless in comparison. The gearing however I find lets it down. I think ideally it could have done with a 6 speed. Although the 5 speed is good, the gearing is just far too long. I'm finding im dropping out of vtec on certain gears. 1st is too long as is 3rd and 4th and vtec seems abit too high up. I think it should come in more like 5.5k imo. However I can only think Honda did this intentionally to make it a better all rounder instead of an out and out sports car. Shortening the FD which i’ve noticed a few members on here have done must make wonders to the feel of the car. And something I may consider when my clutch decides to pack in. TBH this is the main let down to the car for me.
Brakes, although very effective just aren't up to any prolonged abuse, after 10mins of a spirited drive bearing in mind im not a heavy braker the peddle was getting very spongy. I know the DC2’s brakes only needed some pads and fluid to make them track worthy so I’d expect the bigger brakes and twin pots on the ATR to be more than adequate when combined with some decent pad material.
Overall and it probably doesn’t seem it, I’m very impressed with the car, it still shows good balance, decent brakes, a very strong engine, mixing both fun with comfort which for me, is ideal. It isn’t as raw as the DC2 but that isn’t why I bought it. The main things letting the car down in my view is its weight (possibly to be expected as well) and the gearing. It seems to do everything really well making it certainly a better all rounder. The things that kind of surprised me most were its high levels of grip and strong engine. It certainly has plenty of potential especially if it was to be turned into a more track focused car.
This post has been edited by sinbad: 18 September 2009 - 09:43 AM
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TDID, on Sep 17 2009, 05:44 PM, said:
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